Customer reviews for Lenovo ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
Our most popular business tool with the no-frill features you demand: long-life, durability, reliability and performance.
Average customer rating:
(78 Reviews) 65
Rating Snapshot (78 reviews)
5 stars
38
4 stars
21
3 stars
13
2 stars
3
1 star
3
59 of 78(76%)customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Review 1 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
MarkE
Worthy successor to my old Thinkpad
Date:February 28, 2012
"This is my second Thinkpad, which replaced my ultraportable x61; a fine little machine that blossomed me from a Thinkpad enthusiast to a full blown dedicated fan.
When the laptop is open:
And on a soft surface like my lap, it's aesthetic and uniformly sturdy, giving me a psychological edge by feeling that it's a worthy extension of my finest work. For me, this is paramount and worth the price in itself. I don't like feeling that my machine is flimsy or susceptible to wear and tear easily. They say you're as good as your tools and in this area, this is the best I've owned.
I don't need to go into detail about how great the keyboard is but if you haven't owned a thinkpad, you've certainly heard the hype or you haven't done your research...
I don't need to go into detail about how great the keyboard is but if you haven't owned a thinkpad, you've certainly heard the hype or you haven't done your research...
- I like the metal hinges, they're a nice touch and add to the rugged all business motif.
- The area underneath the keyboard is sturdy and spacious. There are no hollow points and there is no creaking.
- I like the green color scheme of the led indicator panel. Aside from this, the backlight of the power button is the only other place on the machine you'll find green. It's a nice touch against the black and red and brings a nice balance of color i feel.
- The trackpoint buttons have a nice finish to them. It feels like a 60/40 mixture of rubber and plastic. Nice and sturdy feel.
- I dislike and am disappointed in the touchpad. They did a lousy job with this. It's cumbersome and annoying to use. I avoid it. It's also awkward because the depth of the computer is so small. You have to cock your elbow out to use it.
-On the note of disappointment, the dvd tray eject button couldn't be in a worse place. It's almost like some sadist put the button exactly where you naturally put pressure when you pick up the laptop. Annoying.
- The area underneath the keyboard is sturdy and spacious. There are no hollow points and there is no creaking.
- I like the green color scheme of the led indicator panel. Aside from this, the backlight of the power button is the only other place on the machine you'll find green. It's a nice touch against the black and red and brings a nice balance of color i feel.
- The trackpoint buttons have a nice finish to them. It feels like a 60/40 mixture of rubber and plastic. Nice and sturdy feel.
- I dislike and am disappointed in the touchpad. They did a lousy job with this. It's cumbersome and annoying to use. I avoid it. It's also awkward because the depth of the computer is so small. You have to cock your elbow out to use it.
-On the note of disappointment, the dvd tray eject button couldn't be in a worse place. It's almost like some sadist put the button exactly where you naturally put pressure when you pick up the laptop. Annoying.
- Love the no gloss screen. The contrast resolution and back light are all much better than my old Thinkpad. Very happy
-Gotta love Thinkpad treats like the nifty lil keyboard light that hangs on the top of the screen. God I love that little guy. Great on planes or when you just don't want to get up to turn on the light.
When the laptop is closed:
- Despise the latch. Terrible job here. Chinsiest part of the laptop.
- Weight distribution is off between the front and the back wit the rear mounted 9 cell battery
Other than that it's a great brick-like, locked, sturdy package.
Running the laptop:
Has been a real happy experience for me in the 5 months I've owned it. The computer is fast, responsive. The three weak spots of the modern laptop seem to be the fan, hard drive, and heat. I don't have any issues with any of those three.
- I love the Thinkvantage software and firmware. The hard drive shock monitor gadget is a cornerstone of this machine.
- Love the other Thinkvantage apps like Power Manager and Access connections. Most pc's come pre-installed with garbage, but thinkpads come with software I would actually pay for (guess I did, didn't I) but you know.
- Love the fingerprint reader. I don't even use the power button.... ever. Swipe on swipe resume.
- Love the other Thinkvantage apps like Power Manager and Access connections. Most pc's come pre-installed with garbage, but thinkpads come with software I would actually pay for (guess I did, didn't I) but you know.
- Love the fingerprint reader. I don't even use the power button.... ever. Swipe on swipe resume.
Putting away the laptop:
It's a great machine and a worthy one to be your companion if your someone who appreciates good quality. There are some major blunders in this model, but I'm able to forgive because the pros definitely outweigh the cons."
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Review 2 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Sirano
Unacceptable
Date:March 16, 2012
"This laptop can be very unreliable. In my experience, I have encountered various issues such as:
a) the touchpad will die without warning. I will be using the touchpad to navigate on the computer and it will stop responding mid-scroll. The only way to get it responding again is to restart the computer
b) similar to the touchpad issue, the computer will, without warning, act as though I am holding down the control key. This is especially apparent when I go to type in a new URL, starting with "www." Before this issue, I didn't know that ctrl+w closes a window. Now I do know, thanks to my lenovo thinkpad
c) Blue screen occurs at random. Some days my laptop is especially fiesty, and will give me the blue screen three to five times in a single day. Everything stops, data is lost, and you have to take ten minutes to restart the computer.
I have had other issues as well, but those three are the most apparent and most unacceptable about this product. I do not recommend this computer."
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Review 3 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
gianpaolo
Best Laptop owned to date
Date:May 14, 2012
"I've had numerous of laptops over the past 14 years and I bought my first lenovo last year and havne't looked back yet. I have dropped, banged, stacked numerous of items on my T420 and never one issue. My old toshiba cracked after I banged it into a wall (not on purpose) my old HP's harddrives would fail just over 1 year and my Gateway memory died after 6 months.
Its true what they say, you get what you pay for. I dont need my laptop to look pretty i need it to work, if i cannot work I dont make any money."
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Review 4 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
junior
the worst laptop i have ever bought
Date:April 28, 2012
"the computer only lasted about 3 hours because of hardware issues... thought this was supposed to be a reliable lap top"
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Review 5 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
MudcatGrant
Simple process
Date:April 26, 2012
"I generally don't like change and "upgrades." I had kept my old Thinkpad for probably 7 years. I was simply running out of memory and HAD to upgrade. The process was simple and easy. This Thinkpad is SO lightweight and easy to use."
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Review 6 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
nik0
Best laptop I've ever owned
Date:April 24, 2012
"I bought my T420 fully loaded directly from Lenovo website a little over a year ago. I used my laptop last year in Iraq and currently I am in Afghanistan. When Lenovo says their laptops are rugged and tough, they really mean it. I ordered my T420 with Intel Core i7 vPro processor, Nvidia Geforce discreet graphics processor, LED display, finger print reader............so on and so forth and so far I am delighted with this equipment. I love typing on this laptop. Display is very sharp. Looks great too! Battery life could be better since I upgraded mine to a nine cell. Speaker volume is one thing this laptop comes short. As far as equipment integrity goes, I have one complaint, I bought a removable hard drive that I use for backup. I swap my drive with my DVD-RW drive once a week to do my backup. After about a year, the locking mechanism underneath the drive bay came loose and fell off. The external drive and UltrayBay still works but the locking mechanism is missing. Hopefully Lenovo will fix that on the next gen laptops."
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Review 7 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
PsychDr
Disappointing fo the price
Date:April 24, 2012
"I own a T420s which is highly upgraded. The original cost was around 2,500. After 22 months of use, it is now needing the fan replaced and the hard drive replaced. So much for "durable" and "high performer". I enjoyed it while it lasted, however I expected much more from Lenovo, especially for the cost."
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Review 8 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
NavyMurse
Mil Spec
Date:April 17, 2012
"I primarily use this computer at home, however I also use it for duty as a Navy Reserve training officer. I wanted a mil-spec computer and Lenovo offers the most for the money. I bought the upgraded display, upgraded wireless card, 500GB hard drive 7400 rpm, and card reader. I thought I needed the T420S or Edge420S, but the T420 is already thin and light. I can't see needing anything thinner or lighter. The construction is top notch. The frame doesn't bend or twist when picked up from the corner or edge. The hinges are solid. The shell material is more like a polymer handgun rather than plastic. It doesn't feel like the other laptops out there. The keyboard is the best I've ever used. I prefer it over my wife's MacBook Pro. Track point is cool but takes a little getting accustomed to. My colleagues are jealous of my built in card reader since they need a corded card reader. I can access secure military sites with minor tweaks and appropriate mil software (and a little help from my IT guy). Work at home is now easier and I don't have to pack a separate card reader for field exercises. I plan to take this laptop into field hospitals and other field conditions as well as home use. There are plenty of USB ports. The Display Port ++ can be connected to an adapter for use with HDMI input on TV. Audio and video will work with said adaptor. Optical drive to break up boredom with DVD's. VGA out for old projectors still in use for power point displays. There was no bloatware present. Lenovo included it's own applications which I find helpful. The battery manager is my favorite and I am still learning the others. I do not play games so the i5 and upgraded display are plenty fast and more than adequate for my needs. I bought this laptop for reliabilty, toughness, and speed. The look is professional and understated, much like a German car. I have not been disappointed. No problems whatsoever. I can't wait to get this machine out in the field. This is my first ThinkPad and I can already see why it has a cult following. Did I mention it's Mil-Spec!"
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Review 9 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Bonzo
not happy with my purchase
Date:April 12, 2012
"I just bought a thinkpad t420s and not very happy,
i like to listen to music and sometimes a movie but cannot do on the thinkpad the volume is so low you
cannot hear any sound out of the speakers unless you move your ears close to the speakers,i paid £1300 for this laptop top of the range you expect decent sound enough to hear,i went to Apple shop today and listened to all their laptop including the 11" air they all got decent sound quite loud,my cheap mobile phone got better sound than my thinkpad 420s really."
i like to listen to music and sometimes a movie but cannot do on the thinkpad the volume is so low you
cannot hear any sound out of the speakers unless you move your ears close to the speakers,i paid £1300 for this laptop top of the range you expect decent sound enough to hear,i went to Apple shop today and listened to all their laptop including the 11" air they all got decent sound quite loud,my cheap mobile phone got better sound than my thinkpad 420s really."
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Review 10 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
techy
extremely good laptop compared to others
Date:March 27, 2012
"I am an avid tech guy who is constantly reading about the newest gadgets and computers. When I needed a new laptop I did my usual research and settled on my T420. It was the best purchase I have made. I instantly fell in love with the track-point and disabled the touch-pad instantly. I have had to troubleshoot several different laptops since I've had mine and when I have to use the regular touchpad on a laptop it makes me cringe! I also love how fast the 420 boots up and shuts down. Maybe 20 second boot up from fully shutdown and it will shutdown in about 10 seconds. As far as everything else battery life is fantastic mine lasts the claimed 5 1/2 hours easily. The disc drive is easy to bump and it will just pop open but that is my only complaint about the whole machine. I would highly recommend this laptop for someone that just wants a fast machine that is going to take a beating and just work when you need it."
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Review 11 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
mclain
Somewhat Disappointing
Date:March 13, 2012
"I configured my T420 to be a power number-cruncher and it has performed to my expectations. The battery life is also good. The mouse pad has a wide scroll area and constantly and unexpectedly moves my page when I am trying to move the pointer. It is insensitive to "clicks" but is constantly doing unexpected "drag and drops". The sound is poor quality and volume cannot be turned up high enough to hear away from the laptop. The microphone is insensitive and cannot pick up when I am away from the laptop. The power supply is overweight for a traveler's laptop and has no provisions for easy storage. The DVD drive is constantly self-ejecting for no reason. The case shows fingerprints and these are difficult to clean. The video quality was poorer than expected and a downgrade from another laptop that had a lesser quality video card than this T420. I thought maybe I had a lemon but a friend's Thinkpad has the same problems."
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Review 12 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
aymanf82
1st
Date:March 1, 2012
"i think its the most good laptop can make your time easy and fast on your network"
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Review 13 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Mark
Good performance for the price
Date:February 23, 2012
"Though price is not competitive compared to other brands, its performance and stablity is definitely worthy."
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Review 14 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
paul
great computer
Date:February 23, 2012
"Thinkpad is known for its quality, and my T420 works well with Win7. It is light and easy to use in daily life. Power settings and other thinpad tools are very helpful.
In sum, it is a good computer, worth for its price"
In sum, it is a good computer, worth for its price"
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Review 15 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
juandy2k
I love this machine
Date:February 22, 2012
"The lenovo thinkpad is perfect, I purchased this machine with the best processor i7 and 1gb of video memory, then I started to upgrade, I install the intel centrino wimax6250 for my wireless and 16 gb of ram that is the best thing that this processor support up to 32 gb. The laptop is well made the materials look very strong, this computer is for someone who likes to move a lot the computer the desing is ugly but who cares about ugly if you have the best inside. Well this was my first thinkpad I decided to purchased this computer because I noticed that all computers in my college are lenovo. So I said to myself that has to be something good, because they bought a lot.
Pro: The only complain that I have is that if you have lenovo and you want to upgrade the wireless card must be lenovo certified to work with the bios. Also if lenovo improve the customer support will be helpful too. On the other hand, this computer is excellent if you want something that last forever. Thanks lenovo and keep doing the good work with this machines."
Pro: The only complain that I have is that if you have lenovo and you want to upgrade the wireless card must be lenovo certified to work with the bios. Also if lenovo improve the customer support will be helpful too. On the other hand, this computer is excellent if you want something that last forever. Thanks lenovo and keep doing the good work with this machines."
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Review 16 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
lele
impressive
Date:February 22, 2012
"This product is impressive for me, I liked it very much. All the performances are fit for me and it is not expensive, I like it."
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Review 17 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Duke
Nice look! Nice machine
Date:February 22, 2012
"I have used Thinkpad T series since 2005. I like my old laptop T42 very much, so I chose T420.
I was attracted by look and quality of T420. It was really nice when I was working, playing and watching. However, something wrong with the usb ports. I dont know why. What a disappointing thing.
Overall, it really deserved to get one."
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Review 18 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Performance
4
out of
5
Mobility
5
out of
5
Design
3
out of
5
Features
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Reliability
4
out of
5
hb12
Location:Minnesota
Owned Product:7-12 months
Processor:Intel Core i7
Memory:4 GB or more
Great Laptop
Date:February 18, 2012
Pros: Weight, Durability, Wireless card, Build Quality, Display performance, Input/Output compatibility, Processor, Memory, Keyboard/peripherals, Storage
Cons: Screen size, Battery
"Enjoy this laptop because it is lightweight for travel and the overall performance."
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Review 19 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Performance
4
out of
5
Mobility
4
out of
5
Design
4
out of
5
Features
4
out of
5
Value
2
out of
5
Reliability
1
out of
5
DisappointedDan
Location:Seattle, WA
Owned Product:Less than a month
Really poor reliability
Date:February 15, 2012
"I'm on my second t420 in the past 3 months and it just died. Don't get me wrong - this is a beautiful machine - when it works!
My first t420 had continual "hanging" problems, where the unit would freeze after going into sleep mode. My replacement unit just died altogether. After checking all the components, pretty sure that the motherboard is toast. AFTER 3 WEEKS!
Not a good unit if it doesn't work and it sounds like there are multiple cases of this being reported on the web. QC needs to improve Lenovo!!"
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Review 20 for ThinkPad T420 - Best Seller
OverallOverall Rating
Performance
4
out of
5
Mobility
5
out of
5
Design
4
out of
5
Features
4
out of
5
Value
4
out of
5
Reliability
3
out of
5
Eric55
Location:ontario
Owned Product:18-24 months
Processor:Intel Core i5
Memory:4 GB or more
T series for business
Date:February 6, 2012
Pros: Warranty, Security Features, Durability, Bluetooth, Video card, Wireless card, Screen size, Build Quality, Display performance, Display resolution, Input/Output compatibility, Processor, Support, Keyboard/peripherals
Cons: Memory, Weight, Storage, Battery, Included Software, Software compatibility
"great product with a 14" screen. very durable. easy to set up and manage.
some issues when lenovo software updates are automatically processed. conflicts experienced.
recommend turning off the auto update.
wifi and security are excellent. the finger print reader feature is great.
Very durable with the roll cage feature and drive parking features, make it the perfect travel companion.
Battery life is still a problem. with a 6 cell it is not that great is you are using powerful programs for any length of time. All PCs whoever makes them have this problem so not a major issue."
some issues when lenovo software updates are automatically processed. conflicts experienced.
recommend turning off the auto update.
wifi and security are excellent. the finger print reader feature is great.
Very durable with the roll cage feature and drive parking features, make it the perfect travel companion.
Battery life is still a problem. with a 6 cell it is not that great is you are using powerful programs for any length of time. All PCs whoever makes them have this problem so not a major issue."
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